(As part of the Sentinel’s extensive coverage of WWE’s Mae Young Classic, we’re be posting in-depth profiles of several of the competitors. For more Sentinel coverage of the Classic, which airs on the streaming WWE Network, click here.)

Lacey Evans freely admits she wasn’t a wrestling fan growing up. She couldn’t be – with a family that moved around a lot, struggled to make ends meet and didn’t own a TV, she didn’t really have access to the sport.

Evans is more than making up for it today as a member of the WWE’s NXT roster and a participant in the Mae Young Classic women’s tournament, which began at Orlando’s Full Sail University in July and concludes later this month.

Evans said the lessons she learned from her upbringing have informed many of her life choices – whether that meant joining the Marine Corps at age 19, being the best role model to her 4-year-old daughter or opening a construction business with her husband in South Carolina.

“[My family’s] lifestyle wasn’t one I ever wanted, but when you’re a kid you don’t have that option,” Evans told the Sentinel before the Classic began. “My family wasn’t very healthy, they weren’t very motivated. They rolled with the punches and accepted what life gave them and that wasn’t always a good thing. I refused to sit back and accept that lifestyle.”

In just a few minutes talking to Evans, she returned often to the ideas of motivation and leadership. Those traits were strengthened during five years as a military police officer in the Corps, and it’s obvious that spreading that message far and wide might be as much of a victory for her as anything she can accomplish in a wrestling ring.

“One of my favorite things to do is motivate other people,” Evans said. “I love to push people and push myself. I like to give it everything I have -- and also to pull that out of people that I see don’t have it. I take pride in that. Never leave a man behind, never leave a wrestler behind. We all have to motivate each other to be the best.”

That “give it everything I have” quote isn’t just empty talk for Evans. Case in point: She began wrestling training while she was still a Marine, stationed in Parris Island, S.C., married with a toddler daughter named Summer. But she was committed enough and talented enough that within just a couple of years, she signed a WWE contract and reported to the WWE Performance Center in east Orlando.

“I have passion,” Evans said. “I love wrestling and I love being a mom and being a wife, but my passion is for whatever I do in my life. Even my hair that I did today, I had passion when I did it. I give it everything. That makes one hell of a leader, if you ask me.”

My passion is for whatever I do in my life. Even my hair that I did today, I had passion when I did it.— Lacey Evans

Evans’ first singles match in NXT came in a unique environment – the front of the downtown Dr. Phillips Center. Then working under her real name of Macey Estrella, she took on Sarah Bridges in the opening match of the WrestleMania 33 ticket party last November. Several thousand people attended the event, though many were distracted while waiting in line for WrestleMania tickets or food.

“It was very odd,” Evans said. “For starters, I’m used to wrestling indoors. The crowd was also an odd crowd from all over the world, coming for this huge event. It was nerve-racking because you weren’t sure their reaction to you being new. It was fun, but interesting. One of my biggest goals is that they would remember me. At the end of the day, whether it’s my skirt or the damage I did to my opponent, they would remember who Lacey Evans was. Hopefully I got that across.”

Evans’ husband and daughter can usually be found at ringside whenever she wrestles – she said her daughter often makes signs to wave while she’s in the ring. One thing Evans hopes people always remember about her is the example she sets, especially for women and young families.

“I’m proud to be a woman,” Evans said. “I think women are strong, I think women should respect themselves and I know that I’m a good role model for women. I know what I’m capable of. I can get down and run with the men, but I will always be a lady and I take pride in that. We need more women role models for our children. It’s something I hold dear to my heart that I believe in.

“To be in this tournament is so humbling and so amazing – and I think it’s a good time to push the boundaries of what women are capable of.”

The Mae Young Classic, a 32-woman tournament, airs on the streaming WWE Network. The first round, including Evans’ match against Taynara Conti, is available on demand now. Rounds 2-4 of the tournament will be added Monday, and the tournament finale will air live from Las Vegas on Sept. 12. For more information, visit wwenetwork.com.